Okay, that was kind of harsh. But really, I don’t forget to wear green on purpose. I barely own anything green. I’m more of a black and gray kind of person with my clothing choices. That way, everything matches!

But with food? That’s a different story altogether. I love me some green food, and when there’s a holiday to be celebrated, that’s even better. These pistachio cookie cups are the perfect festive treat!

Let’s get back to the wardrobe for a minute, because I have often been mistaken for a vampire, thanks to my color choices. You see, I wear a lot of black. A lot. It’s partly because yes, it matches everything, but it also expresses my deep disapproval of winter and mourning for summer. Once the seasons change, the sundresses can come out of hiding!

Thanks to genetics and rigorous sunscreen usage, I have extremely pale skin. My students have accused me of being a vampire, and I don’t bother contradicting them. After all, fear can work to a teacher’s advantage. The contrast of very dark hair with my regularly ashen hue is definitely a motivator for the black clothing preference as well. It’s an exercise in contrast.

So yeah, when tomorrow rolls around, there will probably be no green. I won’t even pull out a green scarf because, nope, don’t have one. Or a pin. Does anyone in my generation wear pins anymore? They mainly serve to make holes in jackets.

Here’s hoping that nobody pinches you come tomorrow if you forget your green. If you walk around armed with pistachio cookie cups, they’ll like you too much to hurt you!

These are so easy to make. The base is a yellow cake mix, to which you add pistachio pudding mix and other basic ingredients. Then you bake them in mini-muffin molds and frost. Watch how easy this is to do!

I told ya. Easy. If you head to the store after work, these will be done in less than an hour. In the recipe, I use bought frosting to speed things up. You could use the kind  that comes in tubs, or you could do my favorite hack, which is to buy a container of vanilla frosting from your favorite local bakery.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all. May it be a pinch-free day full of fun, laughter, and green food!

I’ve taken out the raisins and seeds and put in chocolate chips and cocoa. As a result, I’m a very happy girl right now.

The bread itself isn’t sweet (except for the chocolate chips here and there), but there’s a lovely chocolate flavor throughout that makes this quite a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day snack!

Now that the Oscars are over, can I get in on the controversy? Hey, better late than never.

Back in the day, I got really excited about the Oscars. Hey, I was a kid. I didn’t overthink the situation. All I knew was that the fashion was fun and that for a few hours, I could watch celebrities hobnobbing and performing. It was just a fun TV night.

As you know by now, this year things got really heated. There’s no doubt that equal representation in Hollywood (in the movies themselves or at the awards shows) has not yet been achieved, and I am duly upset about it. But there’s something else about all awards shows that bothers me.

Why do we give actors so much screen time for recognition? I mean, we’re talking endless hours of airtime, media coverage, and money that gets poured into awarding people who have made it in the television and film industry. They’re all talented, so I’m not trying to hate on their craft. But why are they the heroes? Why do they get all those moments in the sun?

People risk their lives every day (or actually give up their lives) to save humanity, and I don’t see them being recognized or rewarded. Heck, they’re not even paid that well. Instead, people who pretend to be heroes, who play the part, get all the credit. It’s so much more glamorous to play a firefighter who dies to save others than to actually be one.

The real heroes have been taught not to expect appreciation as a matter of course, and that’s the way it is. But the way we celebrate Hollywood is positively obscene. Do you know about the gift bags that Oscar nominees receive? Some publications have estimated the worth of these gift bags to be around $200,000 each. Really? Is that necessary?

And that doesn’t include the expense of the show itself, or the parties, or the fashion, or the salary bumps that the world’s most successful and well-paid actors receive once they win that gold statuette. I’m not all about the money (I did go into teaching, after all), but that’s just insult to injury when you consider how much time and attention is spent on rewarding people in show business.

Okay, rant concluded. Deep breath. Soda bread.

Every year on St. Patrick’s, someone brings a soda bread into the office. It’s the standard issue soda bread, which has a lovely flavor and texture and goes perfectly with butter. I enjoy it, to a point. But man…those caraway seeds. Not my thing.

What I’ve done here is probably super not okay with traditional St. Patrick’s Day revelers, so I apologize. But I had to. The bread gets a shot of cocoa and some chocolate chips. And it’s not hard to put together at all. The video is the proof!

This bread is simple to make and accessible. Nothing fancy going on here! Nope, we save that for the Oscars. They can have the overdone display of exclusion and artificial emotion. I’ll keep it real with the baking!